Folding wringer interlock



R. A. BARRETT FOLDING WRINGER INTERLOCK July 23, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Aug. 10, 1955 FlG.i

INVENTOR. RALPH A. BARRETT ATTORNEY July 23, 1957 BARRETT 2,800,009

FOLDING WRINGER INTERLOCK Filed Aug. 10, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m M r 7?FIG.4

INVENTOR.

RALPH A. BARRETT ATTORNEY United States Fatent eeann FOLDING wnnsonnmrnnrocn Ralph A. Barrett, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor, by mesneassignments, to White Sewing Machine Corporation, Lakewood, Qhio, acorporation of Delaware Application August 10, 1955, Serial No. 527,459

1 Claim. (Cl. 6822) This invention relates to washing machines of thetype having a wringer adapted to be disposed in upright operativeposition or folded within the machine tub when not in use, and moreparticularly to a washing machine of this type wherein the wringer maybe rotated or indexed to a plurality of upright operative positions andinter-lock means are provided whereby the wringer can only be foldedfrom a pre-determined upright position.

The invention to be described is particularly adaptable to a washingmachine of the general type illustrated and described in U. S. Patent2,679,151 which was issued in the name of Gerald I. Cockerill et al. onMay 25, 1954. In said patent .a wringer is illustrated which is adaptedto pivot about a horizontal axis adjacent the upper end of a drive shaftfor the wringer whereby when the wringer is manually rocked to uprightposition it is automatically latched in such position and the driveshaft is adapted to operatively connect with a stub shaft on the wringerfor driving the wringer rolls. A shelf or supporting portion is formedon the machine tub and upon manual release of the latch means thewringer may be rocked to folded position to engage and be supported bythe shelf.

The wringer disclosed in the aforesaid patent cannot be rotated about avertical axis or indexed to a plurality of operative positions. It ishighly desirable that the wringer be movable to a plurality of operativepositions which is common practice in washing machines havingnon-foldable wringers. The present invention discloses a foldable typewringer which can be indexed to a plurality of operative positions but Ihave found that there is a tendency by some users to disengage the latchmeans and attempt to move the. wringer to folded position when thewringer is not in a position to be supported by the tub shelf. Underthese circumstances and since a wringer is relatively heavy, damage mayresult to the wringer and/ or tub or injury to the fingers or hand of auser. Accordingly, I have developed an inter-lock whereby the latchmeans can only be manually released to permit folding of the wringerwhen the wringer is in position to be supported by the tub shelf.

It is desirable that the wringer be easily detachable from the washingmachine for various reasons such as shipment, repair or replacement andin a conventional non-foldable wringer type machine this is usuallyeffected by having a depending tube on the wringer housing telescopewith an upstanding tubular portion of the machine which permits thewringer to rotate on a vertical axis relative to the machine. Thewringer drive shaft on the machine and the wringer stub shaft usuallyhave a tongue and groove connection and the weight of the wringer keepsthe parts in operative relationship and no supplemental locking means isrequired. In removing the wringer it is merely lifted to clear thetelescoping parts.

The wringer of the present invention when in folded position preferablyhas the wringer stub shaft inclined downwardly from the pivotal axis formaximum disposition of the wringer within the tub and it is necessary toprovide supplemental lock means to prevent any tendency of the wringertowards sliding or detaching movement. In a preferred embodiment of theinvention the indexing means also functions as supplemental lock meanswhen the wringer is in folded position.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide in a washing machinehaving a wringer adapted to be folded into and supported by the machinetub means whereby the wringer may be indexed to a plurality of uprightoperative positions.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a washing machine ofthe above type inter-lock means whereby the wringer can only be moved tofolded position from a predetermined upright position.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a washing machine ofthe above type a safety inter-lock preventing folding movement of thewringer except from a predetermined upright position and which alsofunctions to prevent detaching movement of the wringer as it is moved tofolded position.

Other objects of the invention and the invention itself will becomeincreasingly apparent from a consideration of the following descriptionand drawings wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary View, partially in section, showing a foldingtype wringer embodying the invention in upright or operative position;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the wringer supportmeans in folded position;

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken along the line 33 of Figure l;and

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the wringer shown in Figure 1 mounted inupright position in a washing machine tub.

Referring now to the drawings, the type washing machine to which theinvention is particularly adapted is more fully illustrated anddescribed in the aforesaid U. S. Patent 2,679,151 and the presentdescription will be primarily directed to the indexing and inter-lockmeans for the wringer. A wringer generally indicated at 10, has a stubshaft 11 adapted to actuate the wringer rolls through gearing encased bya housing or shield 14. In upright or operative position, a groove 16 inthe lower end of wringer shaft 11 is adapted to receive the upper end ortongue 17 of a drive shaft 18 adapted to be operatively connected to thewashing machine motor (not shown). As more fully explained in theaforesaid patent, drive shaft 18 is adapted to move a limited amountaxially whereby when tongue 17 is in alignment with groove 16 shaft 18will be forced upwardly under spring pressure to operatively connectshafts 11 and 18. The wringer rolls are adapted to be selectivelyreversibly rotated in a conventional manner upon driving engagementbetween the shafts.

One side Wall of the tub is formed to provide a generally horizontalshelf 62 adapted to support the wringer in folded position. At one endthe shelf terminates in an elevationed portion 19 forming a perforatedhorizontal seat for a member 21, preferably formed of cast metal, whichis rigidly secured to the tube in any suitable manner as by projectingbolts through lugs 22 formed on member 21. Spaced bearings 23 are formedon member 21 which receive therebetween a hinge formed on a cooperatingmember 24, preferably a casting, and the mem bers 21 and 24 arepivotally inter-connected by a pin 26 extending through the hinge andbearings 23. Member 21 receives the upper end of a tubular wringercolumn 27 which encircles drive shaft 18 and member 24 has a relativelyshort tube 23 secured thereto which encircles the. lower portion ofwringer shaft 11. Member 24 has a flange 29 forming a seat for wringer10, the flange having a radial slot 31 therein for a purpose to bedescribed.

' illustrated'in Figure 1.

A pair of spaced lugs 32 are formed on member 24 and 'a latch pin 33extends between the lugs.

Mounted on member 21' is a generally L-shaped latch 34 adapted to berocked about apin 36in a counterclockwise direction against the force ofa spring 37. The latch has a slot, indicated at 38, adapted to receivepin 33 when member 24 and. associated parts including the wringer 10 aremanually rocked to upright position or the 3 position indicated inFigure 1.. In rocking the wringer t upright position pin 33 firstengages an inclined lip 39 on .the latch thereby forcing the latch in acounter-clockwise direction about pivot pin 36 until latch pin 33 is inalignment with slot 38 whereby spring 37 will force the latch Vclockwise to hold members 21and 24 in engagement and extending latchportion 41 will'disengagethe latch member '34 from pin 33.. The latchmember is provided with an upstanding pin 42 adapted to be receivedinslot 31 of member 24 when member 24 seats on member 21. V For variousreasons as for shipment, repair or replacement it is common practice tohave the wringer detachable by merely lifting the wringer out ofengagement with an upstanding tube aflixed to the washing machine suchas tube 28. The wringer is formed witha depending generally tubularportion, indicated at 43, forming part of the wringer head whichsupports the rolls and gear mechanism.' I secure a perforated disc 44 towringer portion '43, preferably. by screws 46, and disc 44 is formedwith an annular groove 47 which is generally semi-circular incross-section as indicated at 48. It is understood that disc 44 may beintegral part of portion 43 rather than a separate part if desired butfor convenience of manufacture I have found a separate part to be morepractical. Disc 44 is formed with a slot'49 extending radially outwardlyfrom groove 47 adapted to permit swinging movement of pin 42 as latch 34is rocked. In this manner pin 42 may enter groove 47 and permit rotationof wringer about the axis of shaft 11 to a plurality of relativelyrotated operating positions for the wringer. It will be apparent thatthe wringer can only be rocked to folding 7 position when slot 49 isradially aligned'withpin 42 as inter-lock preventing folding of thewringer at other than the desired'position insures that the wringer willnot contact the agitator or tub sides which might result in damage andminimizes any danger of the fingers or hand of an operator being caughtbetween the wringer and the tub or agitator since only the wringer headcontacts the tub supporting portion and it is natural to grasp thewringer for rocking movement at the central zone of the wringer top,indicated at 51, or at a point spaced from the wringer head.

As previously explained, it is desirable that the wringer be quicklyremovable and in conventional arrangements wherein the wringer is alwaysin upright position it is not necessary to have any locking meansbetween the wringer and a part such as tube 28. However, in the presentinstancewhere the wringer 'is adapted to 'be folded into the tub it isdesirable to provide locking means to prevent "movement of the wringeraxially relative to tube 28.

. means when the wringer is rotated about a horizontal axis to foldingposition.

Tube 28 at its upper, end, Figure 1, isprovided with a It will be notedthat in such -position the axes of the wringer rolls are substantiallyplurality of holes 52, four being illustrated, and tubular portion 43depending'from the wringer head is provided with a hole 53 adapted toselectively be aligned with any of the holes 52 in tube 28 by rotationof the wringer about the axis of shaft 1 1. A generally L-shapedindexing lever 54 is pivotally supported by a pin or the like 56. Theupstanding portion of the lever is provided with a pin 57 adapted toproject through holes 52 and 53 to lock the wringer in a plurality ofindexing positions.

The substantially horizontal or finger engaging portion of lever 5 isgenerally of inverted U-form in cross-section and one end of acompression'spring 58 abuts the underside of this portion, the other endof thespring abutting tubular portion 43 and being held centered by anupstanding finger 59.

the wringer to tube 28 by pin 57 when holes 52 and 53 are aligned. Whenit is desired to rotate the wringer. from one operative indexed positiontoanother downward 7 pressure on lever 54 withdraws pin 57 from a hole53 of tube 28. It will be noted that when the wringeris rotated tofoldableposition, as illustrated in Figure l, the wringer is lockedagainst axial movement relative to tube 23 by pin 57 so that no axialmovement of the wringer occurs relative to the tube as the-wringer isrocked into folding position. wringer when it is in upright position'itis merely necessary to disengage pin 57 from tube 28, rotate the wringerso the pin is out of alignment with tube holes 52, and lift the wringerout of contact with tube 28.

It will now be understood that I have provided a folding type wringerfor a washing machine which can is rocked to folded position, thewringer being adapted to be indexed to a plurality of operativepositions, and the wringer being easily removable from its supportmeans.

When the wringer is in folded position the wringere head housing 14rests upon shelf .62 and the wringer is held above or clear of theagitator indicated at 64. Shelf. '62 is preferably inclined slightlydownwardly towards the central zone of the tub for drainage I preferablyemploy push rod type'controls as indicated at 66 and '68, one controlbeing adapted to operate a pump clutch or the like and the other controlbeing adapted to operate a clutch for agitator 64.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be 7 limited to theexact details of construction shown and described, for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

What I claim is: g

In a washing machine of the type having a tub, an upright drive shaft, awringer having a relatively short drive shaft extending therefrom, andthe wringer being adapted to be folded within the tub or disposed inupright operative position with the wringer shaft engaging the uprightshaft, of means for rotating the wringer about a vertical axis to aplurality of indexed operative positions, said means comprising a memberpivoted to the machine adjacent the tub' top and adapted to be locked ina position providing a horizontal seat for the-wringer,

the member including a tubular portion extending at right angles to saidseat, the locking means including a pivoted latch member having a pinadapted to extend upwardly from said seat when the member is in lockedSpring 58 constantly tends to rotate lever 54 in a ciockwise directionand will automatically lock If it is desiredto remove the plurality ofrelatively rotated operative positions, the latch member being manuallyreleasable to permit folding of the wringer within the tub, and the saidflange having a radial slot extending from the annular groove therein tothe flange periphery whereby the latch member can only be released whenthe latch member pin is in radial alignment with said slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS GetzJan. 22, 1918 Dessert et al. Apr. 10, 1928 Wise Aug. 14, 1928 Cockerillet al May 25, 1954

